Lucy Review

Mention La Femme Nikita and I’ll remember that 1990 film starring Anne Parillaud that remains one of my favourite films from this French director. Of course over the years he’s at a few hit and misses and his last real hit to be was probably The Fifth Element.

Now comes another of his works with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman involved. And like my journalist said to me earlier in the day “This is probably going to be a stupid film BUT we gotta watch it anyway! It’s Scarlett Johanson!” I actually went because it was a Luc Besson film.

The Plot

From La Femme Nikita and The Professional to The Fifth Element, writer/director Luc Besson has created some of the toughest, most memorable female action heroes in cinematic history. Now, Besson directs Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, an action-thriller that tracks a woman accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.

The Verdict

I’ve always had a liking for Luc Besson’s cinematography style and so that was something I was very much expecting and in truth, it didn’t disappoint. From the car chase scenes to even the weird segways which at some point looked like they was taken off National Geographic.

I’d say the film tries to be thought provoking though it is hard because there’s that action thriller element and of course your Matrix influenced reality bending scenes and perhaps that’s where it fails, because as Lucy begins to access a higher percentage of brain function, she acquires powers yet tried to dwell on the knowledge she’s gained.

Morgan Freeman as always is a good piece of the puzzle in this film, his earnest character is somewhat different from a scientist who craves knowledge. This one very quickly knows where he stands compared to Lucy and willingly waits for the knowledge to be shared.

Naturally the film is full of plot holes and as I’ve described, one would think that many elements have been stolen from other films. While all that may or may not be true, I will say that it’s an interesting film. That I won’t take away from it.

Having Scarlett Johansson play the lead is certainly refreshing for his type of film because most would expect someone like Milla Jovovich to fill the role instead. None the less I happen to think Scar Jo handled the role perfectly with that transition from Bimbo to really smart to super soldier all showing in her facial expressions.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

Look this ain’t The Professional, Lucy isn’t going to win any major awards but if you want to really enjoy this film then take it as it is and embrace it with well…..10% of your brain.